


Just

by legolastariel



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2016-08-20
Packaged: 2018-08-10 00:18:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7822918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/legolastariel/pseuds/legolastariel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fix-it version of what <i>should</i> have happened, after Rick offered Michonne those peppermints at the end of episode 6x10 ...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eyeus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eyeus/gifts).



> I gotta be honest here - I'm a die-hard Rickyl fan and Richonne becoming canon was devastating for me back then. And Eyeus - one or the other may have read her stories here, too - felt the same. So I wrote this story for the both of us back then. To make it all better again. LoL

**Just**

 

With a deep, content sigh Rick Grimes stretched out under the warm covers of his bed, trying to get as comfortable as only possible to be able to relax. 

The last weeks had been tough. He dreaded to think back to that horrible night, when due to his actions and decisions Jessie and her sons had died and Carl had been badly injured. For a while there things had looked bad, very bad, but Carl was tough and he had pulled through, just like Michonne had said. It was a slow recovery, but one step at a time the boy had fought his way back into life, had learned to accept to some extent that he had lost one eye and although he would never be the same again, inside and out, he gave cause for hope.  
After they had managed to win Alexandria back that night and had effectively erased the entire herd of walkers, the whole population had spent days cleaning the streets and houses of the corpses, draining the gasoline soiled pond to get rid of all the walkers Daryl’s fire had lured into it and refilling it with fresh water, as well as erecting new walls and watchtowers. Works still were not completed, but they were getting there.  
Deanna’s plans had helped Rick immensely already and would do so in the future.  
There was lots to be done to build the new world he had promised and it wouldn’t happen overnight, but he was eager to do the best he could to make it work. 

He felt his limbs grow heavy and thoughts move in slow motion. Just before sleep was about to claim him though, he felt the mattress move as someone climbed into bed with him. A warm hand came to rest on his bare chest and instantly brought him back around. His blue eye flew open and to his utter surprise had him look straight into Michonne’s face.  
Rick felt his mouth parch and he couldn’t help just staring at her, unable to move.  
Her fingers drew small teasing circles on his chest, while her lean and clearly naked body pressed to his. She leaned in, bringing her mouth closer to his face, her tongue licking her full lips seductively.  
He felt his pulse rate pick up almost painfully. There had been days this would have been a dream come true. There had been days he wouldn’t have thought twice about jumping at the opportunity. Those days however lay far in the past. He’d be a liar, if he said that a beautiful, naked woman so close, here with him in bed, offering all her charms, didn’t have any effect on him – he’d be dead, if that was the case. He was just a man after all, but if there was one thing he could proudly say of himself, it was that he had always been a faithful man. Always. No matter what, as long as he was in a relationship, everyone else on this planet – no matter how tempting they were – were completely off limits. He would never cheat. Never. Especially not on someone he truly loved – and his heart belonged to Daryl. Completely and forever.  
So what on Earth was driving this woman? Had he done anything, anything at all to encourage this? What was she thinking?  
He had offered her peppermints earlier and she had been excited about the treat. Things like candy were rare these days. Supplies were running short, fact, but since when did offering peppermints mean you could skip like three dates and pounce on someone unsolicited? Did she think she would have to repay him for those stupid peppermints in any way? Well, finding him some decent coffee would have been sufficient.

Her long strands were tickling his nose and just as he was about to finally say anything, the teasing hand slipped further down, crawled underneath the covers and had Rick squirm uncomfortably. It was definitely time to put an end to this. 

“No!” 

A simple word. One that should be understood anywhere and should be respected no matter who said it or what situation it was voiced in. “No” meant, "I don’t want this, so stop it".  
Michonne however had different plans. She moved even closer to him, pressing her body to his, the hand remained on his body despite his protest. It came back up though and touched his face now, patting his cheek, which made him pull back and furrow his brow in visible discomfort.

“Stop it!”

He swatted the hand away and was surprised when she caught his wrist in one quick move, holding on with more power than he had expected. 

“Rick!”

Gosh, he had no idea her voice could be so deep. It did sound sexy, that much he had to admit to, but still – she shouldn’t be here. He didn’t want her here.

He struggled to free his wrist, but the grip even tightened.

“Rick!!”

Her voice was much louder now and he wondered what the heck she wanted. Why was she first trying to seduce him, only to yell at him now? Was the woman out of her mind?

The next second he got pinched painfully and cursing under his breath Rick sat bolt upright. 

Complete darkness engulfed him and had him look around himself confused and panting as though he had just run a mile. What was going on here?  
He felt a movement to his side and that warm body pressed against his once more.  
She couldn’t be serious!  
Anger got the better of him and he gave her a rough shove, surprised that only a second later that shove was returned and sent him back onto his back.  
The bedside lamp illuminated the room softly the next moment and had Rick look straight into a pair of well-known blue eyes that squinted against the sudden light, giving him a scrutiny. 

“Fuck, what’s the matter, man? First ya toss 'n' turn an' talk in yer sleep, an' now ya …”

“God, Daryl!”

Rick’s relieved exclamation and the way he sat up the next second, pulling Daryl into a crushing embrace, cut off everything the older man had wanted to say. 

“Just Daryl‘s okay”, he teased softly, while he wrapped his arms around Rick, wondering what this was all about. “Had a bad dream?” he then asked cautiously.

Rick let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding before he answered:

“You have no idea.”

Daryl ran one hand gently through Rick’s sweaty curls and pressed a kiss to the side of the other man’s neck.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Hell, no.”

This fierce negation had Daryl frown and pull back a little to look Rick in the eyes.

“Ya sure?”

A smile appeared on Rick’s face.

“Yes, Doctor Dixon. I’m fine. It’s nothing. Just … a bad dream. Not important.”

“ ‘kay.”

Daryl didn’t sound convinced, but he let it rest nevertheless. Slowly he let himself sink back into his pillow, pulling Rick with him until they both lay stretched out once more, the younger man’s head resting on the archer’s shoulder. Daryl pulled the covers up around them and hugged Rick close. 

This wasn’t the first time he had to wake Rick from a nightmare. Many things had happened in the past his boyfriend obviously had not digested yet. Things that bore heavy onto his conscience, tortured him now and again, didn’t let him find the rest he needed. But Daryl was no therapist. He was just … Daryl. All he could do was be there when Rick needed him, hold him when he needed physical contact, try to soothe him in whichever way he could until the nightmares were nothing more than what they actually were – just a dream, nothing real.  
Rick wrapped one arm over Daryl’s bare torso and listened to the strong and steady heartbeat beneath his ear. A sound he had learned to love – there was nothing else he found so soothing. Daryl was the first man he’d ever been with and with women it seemed to be an unspoken rule that it was them putting their head to the man’s chest, as if it just couldn’t work the other way round. He had never known how wonderful it was to fall asleep to the steady rhythm of a lover’s heartbeat. 

“Anything I can do?” Daryl asked softly. 

“You’re doing it”, Rick replied drowsily, snuggling up to Daryl, thinking – not for the first time – that he was blessed to have this man by his side. 

Daryl placed a soft kiss on Rick’s head, noticing reassured that Rick’s breathing grew deep and even and his body went limp in his arms. Clear signs that the younger man was relaxed and about to drift off to sleep once more. 

“Night, Rick”, he whispered to him. “Gotta make another run tomorrow, so try ta get some rest.”

“Yes, mom”, came the slurred reply. 

Daryl couldn’t help grinning to himself.

“Ya gettin' fresh on me here, I’ll give ya yer ol’ pet name back.”

Rick didn’t reply to that, but the older man could feel his face muscles move as he smiled.  
For a while it was quiet, save for their soft and even breathing. Daryl listened to the soothing sound for a while, keeping his eyes on Rick’s unmoving form, thinking – not for the first time - that he was blessed to have this man by his side.  
His eyelids drooped several times, but he forced them back open, waiting to see if Rick’s nightmare would return, ready to wake him instantly if it did. And also – that much he admitted to himself – because he loved to watch his lover sleep. Loved to see Rick’s features all peaceful and relaxed, sometimes even a small smile on his lips.  
In the early days, when the apocalypse had just begun, Rick had still been filled with optimism and hope, had smiled despite of it all. The sparkle in his eyes had disappeared the day he had been forced to kill Shane and the smile had faded until it had been replaced by harsh lines in his face – anger, frustration, despair and anxiety commanding his actions and reactions to an extent that had saddened Daryl more than anything. He wanted to see Rick smile again. Wanted those beautiful blue eyes to shine again. Wanted to have the vibrant and charming man back that he had seen in Rick back then.  
And he was getting there. Many times in the previous weeks he had seen Rick smile again.The lines on his face had smoothed and he was his younger self again, displaying joy and optimism he had been lacking for a long time. And Daryl liked to believe that he had a part in that change.  
Still Rick had to fight his demons. Once in a while he would stare blankly ahead of himself, brooding, or wake from nightmares. But when he slept peacefully, all worries and torturing memories pushed far back into a dark corner of his mind, he looked like the man Daryl had met back in Atlanta. The man he had felt instantly drawn to, although he had been unable to explain why. 

Rick had been married, had had a family, was obviously straight and in no way even interested in him – actually he hadn’t even appreciated him being there, had only seen the foul-mouthed, simple-minded redneck everybody else had always seen in him. A frustrating situation that had Daryl react even more aggressive back then than usual. Why Rick had ever given him a chance at all was beyond him.

Had he questioned his boyfriend about it, he would have been surprised, because Rick would have told him that he had never seen just a simple-minded redneck in him at all. Something about the way the older man had been picking fights and questioning things, yet giving in and allowing Rick to take the helm unconditionally had shown him that Daryl was covering something by displaying aggressions. He was frustrated and he was angry, yes, but _why_? There was more. And Rick had had the impression that is was worth finding out what that was; thought that he might like what he sees, if he ever got to see Daryl Dixon’s true colors. And he had been right.  
In the end, waiting for each other proved to be the best thing they ever did. 

Just when Daryl thought Rick was finally peacefully asleep and allowed his eyes to finally fall shut, the younger man spoke again unexpectedly. 

“You know …”, he started and had Daryl open his eyes with a sigh.

“Do I have ta knock ya unconscious, Grimes, or will ya just go ta sleep now?”

Ignoring the threat, Rick continued unimpressed:

“I was just thinking …”

“Yeah, you just keep on thinkin', Butch, that’s what ya good at.”

Rick couldn’t help chuckling at that. He recognized those lines instantly – Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. He used to love that movie. It was epic. Somehow he liked to think that he and Daryl were a little bit like Butch and Sundance, but he hoped their story would end differently. 

“You know, Sundance”, he replied with a smile on his face, “I think I’m gonna have Michonne do that run tomorrow. What do you think?”

A surprised frown appeared on Daryl’s features.

“Why Michonne?”

Rick shrugged curtly, then lifted his head off Daryl’s chest to look him in the eyes.

“I sort of have the impression she needs to be out there and work off a little bottled-up energy. Besides, we’ve been doing all the runs lately. Don’t see why it should be us doing it all the time.”

Daryl cocked his head and suppressed a smirk.

“Maybe ‘cause we _somehow_ always come by some nice cozy hideaway 'n' get some undisturbed time all to ourselves?” 

Rick moved a little higher until his face was right next to Daryl’s. 

“Good point, but you know – that door over there has a lock and key. And since I seem to be the chief of this city now, I can tell people to leave us the fuck alone for a while.”

Daryl held eye contact without blinking once, his face deadpan while he was cracking up inside.

“Council affairs, huh?”

“Good idea.”

“Urgent matters ya have ta take care of, chief?”

“Definitely. Very urgent.”

Their lips met and only seconds after the first contact, both tongues darted out to taste the other, explore further, deepen the kiss, accompanied by hands that ran over bare skin and got entangled in each other’s hair. 

“Wanna run one or the other matter by me right now, chief?” Daryl teased in between kisses, his breath labored. 

“If you got the time, Mr. Dixon", Rick replied with an effort, while he let his lips travel down Daryl’s neck, nibbling and licking in turns. 

“Think I can squeeze ya in.”

They both burst into laughter a second later when the ambiguity had seeped through. Tears were streaming down Rick’s face while he tried to compose himself.

“God, Daryl, do you do that on purpose or is it just the way your mind works?” 

“Got no blood left in ma brain ta work ma mind”, he replied. 

The allusion went right to Rick’s crotch as well and for the next hour they didn’t mind whether or not the door was even locked, didn’t think about runs or Michonne or _anything_ at all save for the person right there with them.  
What they shared wasn’t just sex. It wasn’t their body’s need to satisfy a physical desire. They became one – body and soul alike - in a way they had both never experienced with anyone else. And this had not only happened the first time they had made love – it was like that every time. It was the most fulfilling, most magical experience of their entire life, as though nature was correcting her biggest mistake each time they were together. The mistake of ever splitting them into two individuals and having them live separated. 

Later Rick lay snuggled up to Daryl’s side once more, hugging the other man close and stifling a yawn. 

“What would I ever do without you?” he said softly.

“Prob'ly a whole lotta crap.”

Rick returned the earlier pinch, but couldn’t help the smile that spread over his face. He yawned again and Daryl once more pull up the covers around them that had ended up in a pile at the foot of the bed. 

“Best get some rest now”, Rick slurred sleepily. “Hard day tomorrow.”

Another grin appeared on the older man’s face.

“I like it when you say _hard_.”

Rick rolled his eyes before he closed them, suppressing another chuckle.

“God, Daryl.”

“Told ya – just Daryl‘s okay.”

“No”, Rick replied, almost asleep, “you’ll never be _just_. You never were.”

The next moment sleep had claimed the younger man and soon his soft snoring filled the room. 

Daryl once more looked at the peacefully sleeping man in his arms and swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. There was a stinging sensation in his eyes and he blinked a few times before he had one hand run tenderly over Rick’s unruly curls.

“Yeah, I am _just_ , Rick”, he whispered to the sleeping man. “ _Just_ the man who’s gonna be there for ya, always, no matter what. _Just_ 'cuz I luv ya so fuckin' much.” 

He closed his eyes with a content sigh, pulling his lover even closer to him as though he was afraid he might disappear, if he didn’t hold on tight enough. For a while he listened to the soft breathing by his ear, before a deep, peaceful sleep claimed him as well.


End file.
